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wife asked what xmas pressie I want so this is on the list.
I am using the road bike more these days but I do suffer with numb feet, especially winter but also get in summer (shoes are not tight, plenty room inside them and I wear overshoes etc so heat loss and blood flow not the issue. The LBS has suggested its because I am using mtb shoes with SPDs and there could be a raised part in the middle of the shoe with the continuous pressure of road riding. After jumping on the bike after a few months off - I do now feel this pressure in the middle of the shoe.
So
What shoes and cleats to get, I do most of my road riding in the winter, and I do already have overshoes that I can put over any new purchase.
My feet are on the wide side of normal.
Bonts are great, especially for the price of the Riot models - heat mouldable, stiff and comfortable.
SPD-SL pedals for my preference (reasonably priced, function well, cleats last well because they don't wear on the surface that clips in) but most of them work well.
What shoes do you currently have? I find that a recessed-cleat shoe with a properly stiff sole is as good as a road shoe (YMMV), and means walking and clipping in are both easier.
I agree with Bez, a stiff enough mountain bike race shoe is as good as a road shoe in terms of pedal feel.
Road shoes do tend to have more supple uppers and sometimes offer more adjustment and that's can help with foot comfort.
I don't agree with Bez and find a road shoe and cleat better for road riding than the MTB equivalent.
Anyway, to answer the OP, I've yet to find anything I like better than Shimano for pedals/cleats. Speedplay have their fans as do Look but for me, Shimano just work, there cleats last OK and they are well priced too. The R550 is a good starter point for £30 ish. Shoes is just a case of what fits, that's Specialized for me but Shimano do good shoes too.
if you have a brand of mtb shoes that are comfy, why not have a look at their road ones ? Similarly cleats - if you are used to Shimano mtb spd's, try their road ones. In my case all shoes are Spesh and all pedals/cleats are Time, in mtb and road flavours.
Cleats - shimano, they outlast all the similar plastic cleats for some reason despite looking almost identical.
Shoes - whatever fits. I've got Shimano Wide fit. Depending on your MTB shoes road shoes are usually stiffer which makes fit more important as there's no give.
Shimano cleats tend to last longer because of the yellow/red bits which are what contact the ground when you walk on them - as those bit wear, it doesn't affect clipping in
LOOK and other brands contact the ground on the part of the cleat that the pedal clips onto so as they wear they get play.
I also use shimano road pedals, really can't see why you'd go for anything else
for shoes, go to a shop and try them on, they all fit differently because our feet are all different, also don't overtighten them because your feet swell slightly when out riding and this is usually more noticeable with a slim fitting road shoe
I did seem to feel the mtb cleat on my Shimano SPDs when using them on the road bike.
I wasn't really wanting road shoes/pedals for practicality so I actually cured the problem by swapping to Time ATAC mtb pedals all round.
But for wide shoes, check out the Sidi Mega versions of their shoe range.
MTB shoes for sure; I can't think of a single advantage to using road pedals for a non competitive rider. Make sure you get a good pair with a reasonably stiff sole; some of the new higher end Shimano ones look good and will be affordable.
I would go for either look, shimano or time depending on cost. I would add I find my time cleats outlast my wife's shimano spd cleats and we've had two sets of shimano spd pedals develop faults, but tbh they are all much of a muchness. Gaerne shoes for me, nice wide fitting and half sizes
I currently have two pairs of mtb shows, shimano MW80 for winter use and pearl izumi summer mtb shoes, i forget model. both are very comfortable and no issues other than the numb feet on both of them, the PI ones probably slightly better.